NordVPN and Surfshark vs ExpressVPN and CyberGhost: Best VPN Comparison 2026

Well, the NordVPN and Surfshark merger just happened. So yeah, looks like monopolies are forming in the VPN world. Now last year, ExpressVPN joined with CyberGhost as well. So the question is, have these mergers shifted the power dynamic? Hey, it’s Mike from Cyber News. And today, I’m gonna explain what has changed post-merger and even compare the current performance of Surfshark and NordVPN versus ExpressVPN and CyberGhost.

Introduction to VPN Mergers

Okay, so it’s been over a month since the Surfshark and NordVPN merger. Last year, Kape Technologies bought ExpressVPN, and it wouldn’t be the first time either. Well-known names like CyberGhost, PIA, and ZenMate joined the same team. These mergers don’t necessarily mean that anything will change in the way providers operate.

In fact, sometimes there are more opportunities for sharing experiences and knowledge between those production teams. The collective effort to improve services should make a difference, right? So I decided to test that out in the first ever team match between Surfshark and NordVPN against CyberGhost and ExpressVPN.

Security and Privacy Comparison

All right, let’s start up this unique VPN comparison with a look at security and privacy. And yes, I cannot take my eyes off the RAM-only servers. I mean, come on, they are essentially for privacy and security since they can’t retain any user data. And ExpressVPN was actually the pioneer in implementing those. Surfshark and NordVPN followed too, but this newer technology never stuck with CyberGhost for some reason. The ExpressVPN merger could help with that in the future, at least I hope it will.

No-Logs Policies

Okay, looking at privacy specifically, I find a no-logs policy to be one of the most important parts. And the effort the NordVPN, Surfshark duo put into maintaining their no-logs policy is quite commendable. I respect all the extra work they did to keep privacy standards high, especially their participation in independent audits. Now with CyberGhost and ExpressVPN, well, their no-logs policies, well, they’re solid actually. And ExpressVPN even proved it in court, and they also have an effective bug bounty program of their own. But I’m a little disappointed with the lack of independent audits for CyberGhost. So, sorry, no points for these two at this time.

Jurisdictional Considerations

All right, all four VPNs actually have decent locations without any data retention laws. While I’m not a big fan of switching jurisdictions and Surfshark’s move to the Netherlands isn’t great, it’s still basically a draw in this category.

Encryption Standards

Finally, I can’t talk about security and not mention encryption. Encryption standards have been pretty much the same for a long time now. Both teams use the ChaCha20 encryption algorithm. But the difference boils down to hash functions, SHA-512 for NordVPN and Surfshark versus SHA-256 for ExpressVPN and CyberGhost. While both are extremely secure, I know for a fact that the former is more reliable in the long term. So I gotta give a point to NordVPN and Surfshark here for that one.

Security Verdict

In short, NordVPN and Surfshark have more polished security practices, well, at least in my opinion, while CyberGhost and ExpressVPN don’t actually lag that much behind. They’re still less secure, though, especially since they’ve lost quite a bit of trust, thanks to their new ownership.

Performance Comparison

All right, next up in this VPN comparison, let’s talk about performance while spicing things up a little bit, looking at the best performance with them teamed up instead of just each individual provider. See, that way, we can see if there’s some good team play helping out here.

Speed Test Results

Okay, so let’s take three servers for our VPN comparison test here. We’ll take the automatically closest chosen server, a US server, and Japanese servers. The result, a good range of values from each team, actually. So yeah, this fight is starting to heat up.

Since these results are pretty close, you can see that there’s a slight difference between the download speed on both sides but a huge gap in ping and upload speed. In the end, Surfshark’s speeds are the fastest ones with NordVPN taking second place and ExpressVPN closing in the top three.

Server Networks

Speeds are not the only performance factor when looking at the best VPN providers. The servers also matter quite a bit, and both teams have huge fleets of servers available. Surfshark and NordVPN have more than 3,200 and 5,300 respectively.

It’s a fair amount split across 65 different countries on average. But this battle isn’t even close, oh no. CyberGhost excels with its number of servers, over 7,100 servers, adding in another 3,000+ from ExpressVPN, and they’re covering 90 countries on average between these two.

Performance Verdict

Where servers and locations are concerned, well, I guess the Surfshark and NordVPN merger didn’t really help out here. However, there is a close draw. While the first team is slightly faster in comparison, ExpressVPN and CyberGhost provide a more diverse range of locations and servers.

So it’s really gonna depend on your specific priorities. Speaking of which, if you want the better of the best VPNs and security and performance are a big focus for you, well, then go get a nice little discount just by following the links in the description.

Applications and Features

All right, still a lot to cover, for example, applications and features of each VPN provider. Now both teams support all the major operating systems from Windows to iOS. The only issue I found is with the CyberGhost Linux app. It was a bit hard to install and configure. Still, a clean draw here as far as variety goes, nothing really to discuss.

Simultaneous Connections

On the flip side, there’s a clear distinction where simultaneous connections are needed. Between CyberGhost and ExpressVPN, these VPNs support from five to seven simultaneous connections, which I think is a respectable number for most groups of friends or relatives or family, I guess. On the other hand, NordVPN and Surfshark vary from six to a theoretical infinite number of connections, a little hard to test that infinite number, though. So I’m not sure how anyone could top that one. So yeah, it’s gonna be a win for NordVPN and Surfshark in this case.

Key Features

Now as much as I’d like to list all the features, we just don’t have an hour or five available. So let’s stick to the most important features first.

NordVPN and Surfshark Features

For team NordVPN, threat protection, split tunneling, dark web monitor, and with Surfshark, you got GPS spoofing, Surfshark One, and whitelister. Now the split tunneling and whitelister features are actually almost identical and both an alternative in CyberGhost or ExpressVPN, though CyberGhost only has it on Android.

This feature lets you connect only certain apps or websites through the VPN. Threat protection from NordVPN prevents any trackers, malicious links, or ads from having an effect on your connection. And the dark web monitor checks to see if any of the data associated with your email account ends up on the dark web.

Now I’m not gonna lie, those are security measures I find only in the best VPN providers. From Surfshark, GPS spoofing is a unique Android feature, useful for changing your virtual address. And my personal favorite, Surfshark One, it’s an assortment of cybersecurity apps, including a secure search engine and an antivirus. Though it does come at an extra cost.

CyberGhost and ExpressVPN Features

CyberGhost has its specialized NoSpy servers, their own CyberGhost security suite, and a neat little ad blocker. NoSpy servers are practically the best of the best. They’re more secure, faster, and just better optimized servers. They even help to improve the performance of CyberGhost right up to the level of Surfshark.

The CyberGhost Security Suite also includes Intego Antivirus, which I find to be a great addition to an otherwise lacking list of extra features. Unfortunately, ExpressVPN has, eh, nothing to add. There’s still no standout features from this VPN. I’m hoping that would change, but, well, it hasn’t yet, not looking like ExpressVPN and CyberGhost are gonna snag a point going this way.

App Performance

Oh, I also wanna point out that for each of those VPNs, desktop apps are the best ones, Windows especially. Most often, macOS apps have less features by comparison. Surfshark and NordVPN don’t have split tunneling on Mac, and CyberGhost’s kill switch is a bit wonky on this platform.

As far as mobile apps, well, this is already a tradition when iOS apps are weaker than Android ones. None of these VPNs actually have split tunneling on iOS, and honestly, that’s only part of the problem. Even when looking at this objectively, it’s hard to judge the apps by themselves, so I gotta give this section a solid draw.

Features Verdict

In terms of features, the NordVPN and Surfshark team gets a win here. They just offer way more. While ExpressVPN is honestly dragging CyberGhost down due to its lack of extra features.

Streaming and Torrenting

The situation changes, though, when talking about streaming and torrenting. For P2P file transfer, NordVPN and Surfshark use specialized servers, and not every location can be used. The situation is the same for CyberGhost. However, ExpressVPN has no limitations on which servers to choose for torrenting, earning a win for its team.

Streaming Performance

Unfortunately, our tests showed that this trend changes with streaming. ExpressVPN and CyberGhost both do well in accessing Netflix US, but they’re not that efficient with other Netflix libraries. When it comes to other streaming platforms, both VPNs had no issues with BBC iPlayer, but only ExpressVPN managed to unblock DAZN while CyberGhost really struggled with it.

In comparison, NordVPN and Surfshark have no problem with a lot of Netflix libraries and can both access other streaming platforms. It’s an overwhelming win on their part. While in general, ExpressVPN is better for torrenting, NordVPN and Surfshark are undeniably better for streaming. So I give them a total victory in that category.

Pricing and Value

All right, it’s time to discuss if these VPNs are worth the money. Are the high prices ruining the overall value of these providers? Well, not in Surfshark’s case, that’s for sure. This one is one of the most affordable VPNs with an almost unbeatable long-term plan.

NordVPN is a bit more expensive. And to clarify that despite working together, each of those services is not bundled with the other. For NordVPN and Surfshark, I also found their free trials to be a perfect option for users that need VPN in the short term or maybe just wanna try ’em out.

ExpressVPN and CyberGhost Pricing

Right from the beginning, neither ExpressVPN nor CyberGhost have a trial, and their prices are on the expensive side. So it’s a little bit hard to justify the pricing of these services, especially in ExpressVPN’s case. There are just not enough features for the price.

Final Verdict: Which Team Wins?

Okay, before I summarize everything up, I just wanna remind you to like and subscribe. It helps me and, well, the channel out quite a bit. Yeah, so we’ve covered a lot of things today in this VPN comparison artcle, security, performance, streaming, and extra features. At the end of the day, NordVPN and Surfshark provide more overall value, especially if you need VPNs with more specialized features, great security, and performance, and all at a more than reasonable price.

Now I am not gonna say that ExpressVPN and CyberGhost aren’t worth your attention. ExpressVPN is arguably the best here for torrenting, and CyberGhost has a very effective and varied server fleet, enabling a lot of various connections. Now, if you’d like to learn more about the differences between today’s winners, just click on the square to my right for a more focused comparison. Hopefully, you enjoyed the first team comparison.

NordVPN and Surfshark vs ExpressVPN and CyberGhost: Best VPN Comparison 2026

Introduction to VPN Mergers